Opening a Bookstore in the Age of Amazon

"You may have heard the news that the independent bookstore is dead," writes novelist Ann Patchett in the December 2012 Atlantic, "that books are dead, that maybe even reading is dead—to which I say: Pull up a chair, friend. I have a story to tell."

Two years ago, Nashville's only two booksellers closed their doors, leaving locals with no brick-and-mortar bookstore within city limits. Determined to fill the void, Patchett joined forces with a sales rep from Random House and signed a lease on a former tanning salon. In this video, she offers a brief tour of Parnassass Books and explains how her audacious idea became a reality.

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Dawson Wells is an artist, producer, and musician living in Nashville.